Man has imparted pleasant fragrances to rooms since time immemorial. Flowers, eucalyptus leaves, dill, and incense have been used for this purpose for thousands of years and are still widely used today. A wide variety of fragrant oils are now commercially available, but they are rarely used by themselves for providing fragrance to rooms because of their rapid evaporation rate and because of the danger of spills. Instead, fragrant oils are generally incorporated into a solid carrier, also known as a fixative. A number of different prior art carriers are or have been used with fragrant oils. For example, Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,366, discloses wax chips containing a fragrant oil and Gyulay, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,717, discloses a porous ceramic ring which absorbs a fragrant oil. Another well known carrier is a mixture of dried Orris root, dried Calamus root, and other dried plant material which, when scented with a fragrant oil, is commonly sold as potpourri. Rock salt to which fragrance oils have been applied has also been sold. However, none of these carriers is ideal.
An ideal carrier for a fragrant oil, depending upon the application, would exhibit many specific properties. First, the carrier would readily absorb fragrant oils and would leave no surface film which might cause staining or tackiness. Second, the carrier would also readily absorb dyes to permit the carrier to be dyed a color corresponding to the fragrance if desired. Third, the carrier would be odorless so as to not clash with the fragrance of the oil. Fourth, it would be nonflammable, nontoxic, nonallergenic, non-nutritive and environmentally safe for obvious safety reasons. Fifth, for particular applications, an ideal carrier would consist of discrete particles having an average size of about 1/4 to 1 inch with little or no fines. Such particles can be easily mixed, poured, and handled; they attractively fill up bowls and containers of various sizes and shapes; and, if spilled, can be picked up by hand. Sixth, the carrier would not soften or melt at elevated temperatures of 100.degree. to 130.degree. F. which are encountered in closed houses and automobiles during summer months. Seventh the carrier would be relatively inexpensive and readily available.
Furthermore, an ideal carrier would be suitable for "simmering"--warming the material in or out of water to accelerate the flow of fragrance into the room. More particularly, the carrier would dissolve slowly in water, cause no harm to pots and pans and permit an easy clean-up after use.
A large number of potential carriers were considered and/or tested and then rejected before the fragrant material of this invention was discovered. For example, potpourri crumbles into fines and leaves a messy residue after simmering in hot water. Wood chips exhibit similar disadvantages and have too strong an odor. Sugar cubes readily absorb oils and dyes, but become sticky and attract bugs. Starch readily absorbs oils and dyes, but cannot be easily formed into lasting solid shapes, attracts bugs and leaves a messy residue when used with water. Rock salt does not absorb oil and dye well because of its structure. Wax chips must be melted to incorporate the fragrant oil and dye, release little fragrance until they are heated, and create a mess if placed directly into hot water. Porous ceramic materials have limited absorbency, are expensive, and present a danger if broken because of the sharp and jagged edges of the pieces. Cellulose fibers are dry and absorb oils and dyes, but are not water soluble and are expensive. Vermiculite is also dry and will absorb oils, but will not dye well, is not water soluble, and is expensive. Accordingly, until the fragrant material of this invention was discovered, there existed a strong demand for a better solid carrier for fragrant oils.